Nosferatu

[patina]

We've finally caved in to years of requests for vampiric scents. As soft as grave dust and as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt, this is Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines.

I know everyone's reviewed this already, but this has to be one of the weirdest things I've ever experienced from BPAL.

When I got the shiny new imp, fresh from the lab, I put it on. I wanted to like it- I could tell there was a lot going on and I like wine smells. But in addition to wine and gritty dirt, it also smelled like rotten chocolate and laundry detergent. The soapy smell wasn't bad, but combined with the wine and the chocolatishness, it was nauseating. In addition there was a herby, grassy note that was loud and bitter. It felt like I'd poked a sharp piece of dry grass up my nose. Allergic reaction! I had to lie down and try not to throw up.

A month or so later, I decided to try it again. Yes, I am crazy.
The sharp grass had calmed waay down. The herbs were still very bitter, but they receded into the background eventually- now it's a much better herb, wine, and dirt scent.

Still not sure if I'm going to get a 5ml, but if you really like earthy smells or wine, you might want to give this one a second chance.

Edit: Second chance, this smells a bit like a wine spill in a janitor's closet. Meh. Edited January 5, 2010 by patina

[devilot]

Nosferatu

 

In the Vial: Fruity dirt? Eh? Ah, the wines and the "gritty earth."

 

Wet: The wines are still very present as well as the lab's dirt note. Ick.

 

Drydown: Oddly enough, what had seemed like two separate notes, has now melded into a general greenish blend with a plummy background.

 

Verdict: I obviously have issues reading, as I only noticed the "wines" and didn't pay attention to the dirt notes. I really dislike dirt notes. This is definitely going elsewhere. *shudders*

[redderz]

In the imp: I actually recoiled, but not in horror, there was just something very sharp! I can smell wine, blood and dirt. I think the wine is the sharp part.

 

Wet: Sour wine with a hint of dirt. It's actually not so bad! I'm getting roses too, but that might just be me. Kind of like, dry roses. It really reminds me of a church.

 

I'm surprised at this one, I quite like it. Fruity, floraly and dirty.

[rayvn1]

I put off trying this one since I thought the wine would go bad on me as it often does. Not so! This is a fantastic dirt scent, strong and dark waves of black soil. Later a sweet grape juice element came into it, but not in a bad way. Keeper!

[cfrancesca]

Ok so this is my little Nosferatu story

 

Reading all the reviews I was so excited to get my imp..

As soon as I got it's first thing I pulled and quickly applied. As I got a strong whiff of my wrist I got so CREEPED out I burst into tears, it SCARED the hell out of me...I've never experienced anything like that before.

It's more than just being dark and unsettling but I can't put my finger on what it is that freaked me out. It was like by smelling this I was smelling Evil , and being enveloped by it. It must be I'm associating it with something. I washed it off quickly...

 

Because I'm persistent, I wanted to try it again and did a couple of days later and told myself I was just being hormonal last time and there's no way a scent can really give me those emotions...so I tried it again and the same thing I got very scared and nervous.

 

 

Note: I told my brother about it and he was curious to try it, he LOVED it and asked me "Where can I buy a Gallon of this?"

[voorishsign]

"Man delights not me."

- William Shakespeare, Hamlet

 

Got this as a frimp - the very first BPAL scent I absolutely didn't like. It was a rather disappointing experience

 

The whole scent is just very, very sour and very sickly on me. It smells like a floral with a vinegar infusion - must be the wine. I'm somewhat reminded of the Nosferatu vampire clan from the Vampire: the Masquerade RPGs, from now on, whenever I imagine them reeking of anything, it'll be this - not something profoundly vile but something that might have tried to be beautiful but had gone so sour that it became profoundly disturbing.

 

That said, while it's useless as a fragrance to me, as a scent experience - the experience of being there, next to the wilted flours and soured wine, by the open coffin as something might be crawling up behind you - for that, it actually does its job amazing well.

Edited September 27, 2009 by voorishsign

[NoinHime]

I don't smell the wine so much in this one. It's all dirt and herbs.

 

That being said, it smells *very* much like the description. There's a dark air of death and crypts: walking though a mossy, overgrown graveyard on a misty, dark, and eerie night.

 

Unfortunately I don't think this is for me. It's well done but it didn't play very well on my skin (I just don't like dirt notes), so it'll probably end up getting swapped. But I am very glad I got the chance to try it.

[PersephonesChild]

I've had this scent for over a year now, but I've never reviewed it, and to tell you the truth, I'm not sure I've ever skin-tested it before today.

 

In the imp, the earthy smell is very dominant, and the wine is very harsh and dry. It's a very moist, fungal, decaying earth smell-- not necessarily unpleasant, but this is some serious loam, not just a little bit of sandiness. I don't get much spiciness or much of an herbal scent. It smells interesting, but strange. I think this is why I've never tried it on before.

 

Today, I went ahead and bit the bullet, and I'm glad I did. The wine note comes forward and dominates on my skin, and becomes pretty sweet and fruity. It doesn't smell like grape juice, though, and doesn't smell like cheap red wine-- more than anything, I think it smells a little like pomegranate. It's not boozy at all, but still does resemble red wine-- in fact, it kind of reminds me of a fabulous non-alcoholic sangria I once had at Caravan of Dreams. It's got a sharp kind of kick to it, but not out of control-- the only wine scent it reminds me of is Caliban.

 

The high wine scents fades pretty fast, but a light, pleasant odor remains for a little while afterwards-- very close to the skin, and hard to name, but faintly fruity without being over-whelming.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - It smells of that mingled cut foliage and dirt scent that weeding seems to throw up.

 

Wet on me - Dark green, almost earthy mosses, with a hint of fresh cut grass and a touch of something citrussy

 

Dry on me - Strangely sweet with an almost violety smell and an edge of soap

 

Overall - Nicer than I expected, but not for me

[Fetus]

First time posting a review for this forum. I will do my best. I tried it last night before I went to bed but for extra verification I'm trying it again as I write this.

 

in the imp: Lots of earthyness and it's a bit sharp.

 

Wet: Has a sharp afternote and is all-earthy to me. I am not smelling any of the sexy sweet wineness. Just earth.

 

Dry: Still earth with some very faint alcohol. After waiting a half and hour Nosferatu is warming up/fading a little bit. It has a very subtle sweetness but no wine scents. The overpowering earthiness is starting to fade out which I think improves this scent X100.

 

My overall thoughts: I just think it's my skin acting weird with this scent. I don't seem to get many of the notes coming up for me and it's not as bloody/sexy/sweet on me so much as it's just straight up earth with subtle sweetness. I find it's still a rather lovely scent and will probably grow me as I try it again.

[SophieCedar]

Oooh this is the scent I'm taking with me to the Carpathian Mountains.

 

It stayed pretty true from Imp to Drydown on me. Dark dark green medicinal herbs, fresh dark mineral rich soil, and a spill of dry earthy red wine. I feel like I'm wandering around the Maine woods drunk.

 

This rules. I want to play Castlevania.

[wrestlingentropy]

The summer after I graduated from college, I spent a few weeks housesitting for a professor and her husband. Their place was at the outskirts of town, in a heavily wooded area. Nosferatu smells almost exactly like what it felt like to be driving toward their house, with the windows down, in the humid, fading heat of a mid-July evening. It's heavy and wet and woodsy, in the best way possible. Wow. I'm loving this so much more than I ever would have thought, thanks to the unexpected nostalgia it brings me for being 21 and clueless and free.

[lucyboo21]

Not at all what I expected.

 

Very sweet green and herbally with a little dry dirt flirting in and out of the background. I get no wine or alcohol note from this, which, in my case, is a very good thing.

 

The scent is quite light and seems to fade fairly fast, but is lovely enough that it would be worth reapplying often.

 

4/5

 

[Finch]

This morning I was moving about getting ready for the day when my nose caught a lovely rich scent. I realized it was my imp of Nosferatu which I had laid out the night before. What a throw! And so pretty. To my nose the wine isn't so apparent, it's mainly mossy sweet earth with a hint of something floral, nothing sour at all. Very nice.

[skyelyric]

Got this as a frimp, and it's...very interesting.

 

In the imp and wet it's like defiled communion wine, for lack of a better description. It's got that sweet purpliness to it, but the dirt and something else twist it around.

 

When it dries down it gets a lot softer and melds together and I get a kind of powdery sweet herby thing going on. I don't think this is for me, but I'm glad I got to try it out.

 

Going to pass this on to a male friend and see how he does with it.

[gingiemay]

Sweet, purpley wine and I swear lemon. I don't get the dirt note, and there is a pleasant herbal undertone. Weird.

[Greenwoodtree]

Hello!!??

I had to re-check the label to make sure I was testing the same scent everyone else was describing!

 

This is fruits and florals...period...so icky sweet, the headache is already nudging me. I get no dark, no dirt, no decay...all scents I enjoy. My husband said it smells like bananas and jasmine. Ick.

 

Whats up with my skin...

[strahlend]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this. An imp of Nosferatu was in one of my first lab orders.

This is the smell of cold flowers and dirt. There is a distinctly cool feeling to this scent that has nothing to do with snow or ice or other pure cold scents, this is the coolness of damp decay - although not to be confused with rot or other putrid scents - cool decay is like in an underground tomb or something. It really is an amazing scent and I haven't run across anything else like it. After being on my bottle list for a while I finally ordered a bottle and I'm glad I did.

[ModderRhu]

Nosferatu

The description of this one drew me in. When I read it I HAD to have it. It was one of the imps that made up my very first order.
I love this. My first impression was that it smelled like one of my friend's houses from childhood. It doesn't smell like a grave or a crypt to me. It smells comfy and homey.
The wine is very soft, barely there and not at all alcoholic. It's more like a whisper or suggestion of wine.
The herbs and the dirt come together to form a smell almost like fresh cut flowers. Like a greenhouse or the inside of a flower shop. On me, the dirt does not smell dry. It smells fertile and moist.
I love Nosferatu. If I could change anything, I would make it last longer and have a stronger throw. It's a very subtle scent, and I wish it would be more "in your face" because it's so wonderful.

4.5 out of 5

[lunchboxmonkey]

I still haven't decided if I like this or not. It smells entirely like its description, slightly sour wine, grave loam, dirt, and something decaying underneath. Its like wine spilled across an ancient, rotting tablecloth in a dark room, with something that smells like grave dirt and evil lurking in the deepest shadows. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't smell bad at all. Its certainly evocative of its name, but I'm not sure its for me. I have a feeling it might be one of those that grows on me though, so I'll hang on to the imp.

[good_mourning]

This is without a doubt my number one BPAL. It is what convinced me, all those years ago, that maybe there was something to this indie perfume oil thing. Every time the Lab discontinues a GC, I panic and add another bottle to my next order, just in case. That being said, I would never, ever actually wear it on my skin. It's far too atmospheric.

 

Imagine that, late one spring night, you walk through your medicinal herb garden, open the doors to your root cellar and go within, a fresh breeze still carrying the scent to you, to discover that one of your housemates has only just murdered another, breaking a few bottles of wine you've stored down there in the process.

 

But in a nice way!

[KakashiMorph]

In the bottle: Mold and wine.

On my skin: The same. The earth smells like mold, and the wine is luxurious, sickeningly sweet, decadent and just a little bit spoiled. I love the wine. The two of them work well together, although the mold scent gets a tad unpleasant at times - just a little bit, for me, maybe more for others.

Cooldown: After about an hour the earth dies away and leaves me with the wine. It is amazing like this. I think they should release this wine as a smell on it's own. I just want to keep sniffing it. By this point I am metaphorically drunk, but I am a very happy drunk.

This is not an everyday scent for me, but it is very good at what it does and is supposed to be. I will be wearing it on according occasions.

[MaritzaCardona]

OMG, this scent is incredible!

 

When I smelled it from the imp it was sweet and....grassy?

 

When I applied it to my skin I visualized myself in a cemetary alone, taking a fistfull of dirt and letting it fall slowly back to the ground. To me it smells like sweet, wet, dirt moments after it stopped raining. There's also something floral in the background. Not sweet but present.

 

This is the first dirt/earthy scent I ever try and I can't get enough of it!

 

ETA: There is a down-side to this scent. It vanishes on me pretty fast, although it leaves a nice clean herbal scent on me. I guess I'll just have to slather "Nosferatu" on me again.

Edited August 25, 2010 by obsidian_vamp

[milo]

At first, this is a fresh floral with a touch of dirt. After a bit, it is mostly dirt with a bit of the minty freshness. My daughter said I smelled really good, but when she put her nose to my wrist, she said it wasn't so great. She said I smelled great from a distance though. I'm not a total dirt convert yet, but they kind of intrigue me in a way, and I certainly won't turn down the opportunity to try them. This is interesting, and I can see me wearing it in the winter when I'm craving spring. No bottle needed, but I'll probably try the imp again.

[Kamanjah]

I intended to try a little bit on my wrists after my shower but was a clutz and knocked my 1/3 of a bottle over on the stovetop. So I slathered. And I still have 1/4 bottle left, so not too bad a spill. It smelled green and earthy in the bottle. After the slather, I had to read the reviews, because I didn't recognize anything but maybe clove and was curious. After reading them, I went and checked the label to be sure it Nosferatu I had on! Yep. There's a lot more going on than clove, and something made my eyes burn. It's very complex and I'm trying an aged oil, so that probably has a lot do do with the way it is interacting with my skin chemistry.

 

I'm glad I have some left to try again another day.